UAE Court Fee Calculator

Court filing fees in the UAE are charged as a percentage of the value of the claim, subject to a minimum and a maximum cap that depend on the court and the type of dispute. This calculator covers two of the most-used systems: the onshore Dubai Courts and the common-law DIFC Courts. Each has its own published schedule, so the same claim value can attract very different fees depending on where it is filed.

At Dubai Courts, the civil and commercial first-instance fee is 6% of the claim value, with a minimum of AED 500 and a tiered maximum: claims up to AED 500,000 are capped at AED 20,000, claims from AED 500,001 to AED 1,000,000 at AED 30,000, and claims above AED 1,000,000 at AED 40,000. These figures come from Law No. 21 of 2015 on Fees and Charges of Dubai Courts, as amended by Law No. 2 of 2019. Labour claims above AED 100,000 are charged at 5% capped at AED 20,000, while worker claims at or under that threshold are largely exempt. Rent disputes before the Rental Disputes Centre are charged at 3.5% of the Ejari contract value, capped at around AED 20,000. An appeal costs 50% of the first-instance fee, and execution of a judgment is 2% of the amount awarded.

The DIFC Courts publish their Schedule of Fees in US dollars. A Part 7 money claim before the Court of First Instance is 5% of the claim value, with a minimum of USD 5,000 and a maximum of USD 130,000. Employment claims at the Court of First Instance are 2% of the claim value with a minimum of USD 100. In the Small Claims Tribunal — whose jurisdiction is generally capped at AED 500,000 — money and property claims are 5% (minimum USD 1,000, maximum USD 8,000) and employment claims are 2% (minimum USD 100). The figures shown here are converted to AED at an indicative rate of USD 1 = AED 3.674 so you can compare the two systems.

These estimates cover the main filing fee only. In practice, application fees, hearing fees, expert fees, and — at the DIFC Courts — a 40% surcharge on documents that are not filed electronically can be added on top. Fees for combined claims are calculated on the total value. The Federal Courts that serve Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah use a different schedule (broadly around 4% capped near AED 30,000) and are out of scope here. Where the figure that applies to your case is uncertain, defer to the official court portal or a licensed lawyer.